


Enchanted

by pezzax



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern with Magic, Arthur Knows About Merlin's Magic (Merlin), Boys Kissing, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, POV Arthur Pendragon (Merlin), Reincarnation, Romance, Slash
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-08
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2021-01-25 17:06:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,839
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21359674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pezzax/pseuds/pezzax
Summary: It's the first day of Uni and Arthur is people-watching as the class fills with students. When a scrawny fellow with dark hair takes the seat next to him, Arthur's attention is suddenly diverted from all other thoughts but getting to know him better.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Comments: 15
Kudos: 340





	Enchanted

Arthur takes a seat in the lecture hall, a mixture of nervous and excited for the first day of uni. He's one of the first to arrive, but sits near the back of the room so he can watch as others arrive. He's always enjoyed people watching. Sussing out personalities by observing outward appearances. Most of them seem to have the same combo of emotions that he does, with only a few outliers. 

When the class is almost full, one of the exceptions arrives. A scrawny fellow with dark hair, curling in an unruly mop on top of his head that still fails to hide his big ears, who looks neither nervous nor happy. He looks somewhat defeated, and Arthur's first inclination is to draw him. 

Then the kid looks up to find an empty seat. One of the few remaining is right next to Arthur - the only one left that isn't on the front row. His eyes find the seat without touching on Arthur, and he begins to trudge up the slanted floor without any change in demeanor. Arthur, however, has undergone an internal metamorphosis in the instant his eyes landed on that pale face. 

The fellow is really nothing like Arthur's usual type - wrong gender, for starters - but he suddenly can't think of anything he'd enjoy more than making those full lips quirk up in a smile. Unless it is to press a kiss to them. He feels enchanted. Unable to pull his eyes from the other boy as he makes his way through the crowded hall to the seat beside Arthur. Barely able to contain his anticipation and keep himself seated in his desire to introduce himself and find out the other's name, and why he's so depressed. 

He reigns himself in, determined not to look like a fool and mess this up. The guy probably isn't even into dating guys - not that Arthur is either. Well, ever before. As he feels the seat next to him shift with the addition of a body, he tries to act nonchalant. How exactly do you act normal when you're telling yourself to act normal, though? It's like the very act of thinking it precludes your ability to do it. 

What the hell. Normal is unimportant. He needs to know his name. 

He shifts so that he can hold his hand out. "Hi, I'm Arthur." But before the fellow can take his hand, or look up at him so Arthur can see his features again, he knocks half of his too large stack of books to the floor. He introduces himself while bent over, away from Arthur, picking up the fallen items. "Hi Arthur. I'm Merlin."

The professor begins rapping on the table to shush the class at that moment, so Arthur turns his attention forward, but rolls the name through his head, across his tongue without speaking it aloud. What an odd name. An odd name for an odd guy, perhaps. Arthur isn't quite sure what just happened to him, why he was momentarily convinced that he was romantically interested in another man, but he resolves never to think of it again. Rather laughable, actually. He prefers curvy women who wear short skirts and tall heels and like to...well, no point letting his mind go there in the middle of class. 

What the hell had he been thinking, though. 

He glances to the side and catches sight of Merlin's creamy skin, his long slender fingers gripping his pen as he takes notes, cheekbones so sharp they could slice diamonds. The feeling is immediately back. He’s completely enamored with this Merlin alright. He needs to get to know him better. Immediately. 

Of course, he's got to make it through this class and two others before he has the rest of the day free. And he has no idea if Merlin also front loaded his schedule to the early part of the day. But Arthur doesn't want to wait until dinnertime to see Merlin again. And besides, if he asks like it's a date, he might get turned down. He refuses to get turned down. 

He spends the rest of class pondering his approach. 

He keeps Merlin's profile in his peripheral view, even while facing forward, and he brainstorms, paying absolutely zero attention to the professor at the front of the room. He can remember the feeling, just moments ago when he took his eyes off Merlin, that this was all wrong. That he shouldn't be suddenly infatuated with a man who he's never seen before. But while he has sight of Merlin, he knows that his life before this moment was the wrong one. His feelings for Merlin, a complete stranger, feel like wearing his most comfortable jumper, like eating bangers and mash on a cold night with a warm fire in the hearth and a pint of Guinness in his hand, like coming home. 

When the professor finally finishes his lecture - the longest hour of Arthur's life - Merlin hurriedly gathers his things and stands, turning away before Arthur has a chance to say anything. To implement his plan. 

"Merlin, wait." He stops, shifting only slightly toward Arthur, but still poised to head to his next class. It's now or never. Arthur has to ask him before he's out of sight, or he might lose this feeling. "Have you been to the ruins yet?"

"Huh?" Merlin's confusion at Arthur's question has him turn more fully toward Arthur, but he's still focusing most of his attention down at the schedule he's holding in one hand. 

"It's just that, I only arrived at Albion University yesterday, and haven't had a chance to explore the ruins. I wondered if you have." No response, so Arthur continues talking, on the verge of babbling to keep Merlin from walking away. "Had time. To see the ruins." Now or never. "Want to skive off the rest of the day and go exploring?"

Merlin laughs self-consciously, looking longingly to the door across the room. Then, almost under his breath, he says, "Skive off? It's the first day." Getting a bit more into the rejection, he continues, "I don't even know you, and I'm almost wondering if Gwaine hasn't put you up to this as a pity…" Merlin stops talking as he finally looks up at Arthur. Their eyes meet for the first time ever. Merlin's are so deep and blue that Arthur thinks he can see eternity in them. He thinks can see the echo of his feelings, like fun house mirrors where you can see thousands of yourself reflected and reflected and reflected. "Yeah, I'd like that."

Arthur isn't sure, for a moment what Merlin is agreeing to, so lost is he in thoughts of eternal expanses of reflected universes, but then he remembers. Right. The ruins. "Wanna go now?" 

Merlin nods. "We can drop our stuff off in my dorm. It's on the way."

"Sounds good." He isn't really sure he wants to know, but the curiosity drives him to ask. "So who is this Gwaine and why would he be pitying you? Do I need to kick his ass for you?"

Merlin laughs, and it's the first time Arthur has seen those luscious lips curve upwards. He resists the urge to grab Merlin close and press a kiss to the side of that mouth. "Nah, Gwaine's my roommate. Met him last night. He seems alright. Bit of a joker, though. I told him about my...well…." Merlin blushes, glances down, and then continues, looking more like he did when Arthur first saw him enter the classroom, "My boyfriend Will broke it off with me when he came over to see me off for school yesterday morning. Said it would be better this way, if we were both free to meet new people, than trying to do the whole long distance thing."

Merlin kicks a pebble as they walk, still keeping his eyes on the ground, surreptitiously swiping at his eyes. Arthur wants to hold his hand, make him feel better, but that seems too forward for having just met. He just moves a little closer to Merlin while they jog up the stairs to Merlin's room. 

Surprisingly, Merlin and Gwaine are right across the hall from Arthur and Leon. Arthur doesn't mention it, though - not willing to let him out of his sight - and simply follows Merlin into his room. He glances around to try to learn more about his personality, but has no idea which of the band posters on the wall might belong to Merlin and which to Gwaine. The bed with the stuffed golden dragon on it, though, he's pretty sure whose that is. 

He only has that moment to look around before they've set their books on one of the desks and Merlin says, "Ready? I've been wanting to see the ruins of Camelot my whole life. Now that you've convinced me to skip classes, I don't think I can stand waiting another minute." Again, he aims that smile at Arthur, and Arthur is overwhelmed with a feeling of rightness. 

"Yeah, let's go." Arthur lets Merlin lead the way, thinking that it feels like a novelty. Like Arthur usually leads, though that's ridiculous. They haven't even walked a kilometer together, and Merlin has been beside him for most of it, not in front or behind. 

It doesn't take them long to reach the ruins. Albion University was built practically on top of the castle after all. But as they approach the open gates, Arthur's pace slows. This feels momentous. Like Merlin said, he's been wanting to see these ruins his entire life, and now, it's about to happen. He feels like he should savor the anticipation. He turns to look at Merlin and tells him as much. 

"Yeah, but just think how much more we can savor the moment once we're inside!" Merlin replies. 

And they step through the gates together. 

The ancient stones are crumbling in many places. Many rooms and alcoves have minute leaks, allowing water to cascade down the walls in black ropes, lending a strong acrid scent of mildew in the air that frustrates Arthur. "I wish I could have seen it as it was in all its glory."

"Yeah, I bet it was amazing! Let's go up on the ramparts and see the view." Merlin has found the steps leading up, and again, Arthur follows. 

When they step out into the open air, the wind blows away the moldy scent from Arthur's mind, and all he can focus on is the raven-haired man in front of him, smiling out at the view, as the wind lifts his hair away from his face. Arthur wants those eyes on him, not out on their surroundings. "Merlin?" He turns, leaning slightly toward Arthur, giving him his full attention. "What is this?" Merlin looks confused. "You feel it too, right?"

Merlin swallows, takes a step towards Arthur as if being pulled against his will, and nods. 

"I think I have to…" Arthur cuts off. He was about to say he has to kiss Merlin, but that's wrong on so many levels. Have to sounds like he's being compelled. It's really that he wants to. And how strange is that? He's never wanted to kiss another guy before. Never wanted to kiss someone who he's only known for a couple of hours either. But he takes a step toward Merlin and starts over. "I'd like to kiss you now...if that's not too forward." Another step, and they're almost touching. 

Merlin nods, swallowing thickly, and Arthur's eyes are drawn to the movement of his throat, then back up to Merlin's lips, where his tongue darts out to moisten them. Arthur closes the gap between their bodies, slotting his feet on either side of Merlin's, so that there's a whisper of a touch between them, all the way from their thighs to their torsos. He trails one finger, feather light, from Merlin's temple to his chin, then presses underneath to tilt Merlin's face slightly upwards. That touch - the first time they've touched skin to skin - sparks what feels like an electric current running under Arthur's skin, a humming of life like he's never known before. He sees Merlin shudder with goosebumps and assumes he's feeling it too. 

He wraps his free hand around Merlin's waist, pulling him flush against his body, and presses his lips gently to Merlin's in a soft, chaste kiss. The frisson of electricity that jolts from his lips through his body feels like a lightning bolt going to ground. He doesn't feel physically able to pull away, not that he would want to, and deepens the kiss into a passionate melding of lips, mouths, and tongues that feels more powerful and true than any encounter he's ever had with another human in his life. 

The kiss lasts thousands of years, as memories explode into Arthur's mind. Standing on these ramparts with Merlin, when the castle was whole and bustling with activity, smiling at one another not long after they first met - back when things were easy, when Arthur was the prince and didn't have the weight of the world on his shoulders. Battling his sister, mad with her grief at all of the wrongs she'd endured, never knowing that he would have done anything to make it all better, to have his compassionate sister back. Dying in Merlin's arms with all of the feelings between them left unsaid. 

But that was just the first of many lives together. Over a thousand years of being reborn, with no memory of their past until they kissed. Way too many of those lives were lived without ever acknowledging their feelings, without kissing, without remembering. 

So Merlin cast an enchantment. They'd both agreed it would be better. From the moment they laid eyes on each other, in each successive life, they'd be driven by the need to kiss. 

It had turned out well in most of their lives. Will usually had his head too far up his ass to make things work with Merlin. Poor Freya was eternally doomed to die young, often mere weeks after meeting Merlin. And Arthur was usually too much the confirmed bachelor to settle down. But every once in a while, one or both of them would be married before they met, and the result of their enchantment would rip their lives apart. 

Sometimes, they had tried to keep up the charade of their former lives, for the sake of the love they'd shared with their spouse, even though it felt like a hollow facsimile of what they felt for each other. In other lives, they'd allowed their feelings for one another to tear them from their former marriages, and the guilt had eaten them up on the inside even while they knew they were better together. 

Every memory of every moment that they’d shared over the centuries returns to him as if in high definition. He remembers days, just like this one, from hundreds of years before, better than he can remember his childhood in this life. 

When he parts from Merlin, it’s as if the sky is bluer, the countryside greener, the stones of the ruins more defined. As if his life is enhanced by all of the history that they’ve shared.

Merlin’s eyes are glowing golden and he is smiling from ear to ear. He holds one hand up and a golden dragon made of sparkling lights dances and swoops right above his palm. “Oh, goddess, I didn’t remember my magic to miss it, but it feels amazing to have it back.” He smiles knowingly at Arthur, “Even better to have you back, though.”

And that was the cost that Merlin had willingly paid - to sacrifice all knowledge of his magic until they found each other, to bind his magic to the enchantment that ensures they’ll find each other. 

They may have had their ups and downs over the centuries, but Arthur can tell that this is going to be one of the good ones. One of the first that they don’t have to hide anything about their relationship from anyone.

He bends down on one knee, taking Merlin’s hand in his. “Merlin Emerys, will you marry me?”

“Always!”

Merlin bends down to kiss him again while he’s still on bended knee, and pulls back chuckling. “This makes me think of the first time we met. Remember?” He continues in an exaggeratedly deep, pompous voice, “Do you know how to walk on your knees?”

“Oi, you just agreed to marry me, and then in the next breath, you’re making fun of me?” Arthur lunges at Merlin and begins tickling him. 

Through his unbridled laughter, Merlin continues. “Or my favorite,” again with the deep voice, “I could take you apart with one blow!”

Still tickling, Arthur uses his body to press Merlin up against the wall, making sure that his meaning is very clear as he says, “Well, my favorite has always been when you take me apart with less than that.”

**Author's Note:**

> This story just hopped into my brain at 5 am and said "Don't work on NaNoWriMo today. Write me instead." How could I say no? 
> 
> Hope you enjoyed it!


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